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Panel peers into Groton's governmental system

By Hiroko Sato, hsato@lowellsun.com

Updated:
01/09/2013 12:36:55 AM EST

GROTON -- Should Town Meeting be held on a weekend to help increase attendance?

What if the town came up with an electronic system to allow people to vote from their living rooms while watching Town Meeting on TV, just like the way viewers cast votes on reality TV shows. Or is it time that Groton elected Town Meeting representatives?

These are some of the many ideas that the Town Meeting Review Study Committee may soon look into as it tries to find ways to create a better governmental system.

Selectmen recently formed the committee in response to complaints from residents about low turnouts for Town Meeting and lack of accessibility due to the time and day meetings are held.

But for some Grotonians, including committee member Barry Pease and his friends, the issue runs much deeper. Pease said they feel "angry and disappointed at many of the decisions made within the town, but feel powerless to do anything about it given the current form of government."

Selectmen Chairman Stuart Schulman has heard people toss around a wide range of ideas, from online voting to abolishing Town Meeting altogether. Every idea has its flaws once it's closely examined, he said. And selectmen want to "let this committee do all the coverpulling" to find flaws and debate pros and cons, Schulman said.

The Town Meeting Review Committee is scheduled to kick off its discussions on Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

Pease, 40, who took it upon himself to encourage residents to attend the meeting through his message on the local electronic-messaging board, Talk about Groton, this week told The Sun in an email that many Grotonians feel disenfranchised due to "the current format and lack of accessibility."

Some others have said Town Meeting on Monday nights requires parents to find child care and those who have problems driving at night to find a ride, according to Bouchard.

Selectman Peter Cunningham said Town Meeting used to take place on Saturdays but was changed to Monday night because people complained that they were busy with outdoor chores in April, when annual meeting is held.

Groton has 7,700 registered voters, and about 250 to 300 of them attend Town Meeting on average, Bouchard said. Bouchard believes absentee ballots would not be applicable to Town Meeting under state law. Unlike referendum questions on election ballots, Town Meeting warrant articles can be amended on the floor, making it impossible for people to know what they are voting for beforehand, Bouchard said.

Schulman said an electronic device of some sort for remote voting intrigues him, although there are foreseeable problems that need to be resolved, such as how to identify registered voters from others. Schulman hopes the study committee will investigate different types of devices.

Cunningham said, however, that using such devices for voting would detach people from the meeting process.

"If a machine is taking over and people are not getting off the couch, that's ridiculous," Cunningham said.

Schulman believes Groton, which has a population of less than 11,000, is too small to adopt a representative Town Meeting. Many people feel that Open Town Meeting is the "purest form of democracy," Schulman said.

Review Committee members Collins and Erickson have also expressed similar sentiment for preserving open Town Meeting.

Pease wants to weigh in more on the effectiveness, than the tradition, of open Town Meeting.

"By nature of growing up within a different voting framework, I carry no faith regarding Groton's current system. I am able to consider the merits and the faults from an intellectual perspective," Pease, a 10-year Groton resident who grew up in California, wrote in a letter to selectmen to express his interest in serving on the committee. The goal of the study committee is to "promote and increase participation in town meeting," Pease said.

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